Monthly Archives: July 2014

Yes, Gentle Reader, I had some serious motivational issues today. The other cosplayers who usually do Cosplay Sunday with me were not able to this week and I stayed out far too late last night drinking far too much. The food and the booze were both fantastic but the fun yesterday left me drained today.

Forgive me then, for not getting my sewing machine out and finishing up the little bit of sewing that the left wing still needs. I need to seam the sleeve part of the wing and top stitch the faux fur down. It’s not a lot of sewing but it is a lot of stop and start sewing. I can’t sew over the boning so I have to be very focused when I’m doing the top stitching and I just didn’t have it in me today.

Fortunately there is still plenty of painting to be done to finish both wings. I finished up the final coat of black on the front side of the right wing. Then I moved on to painting the black on the front side of the left wing and realized, to my horror, that I had not drawn the pattern quite correctly. Thankfully I caught the mistake before I got very much painting done.

Catching the mistake before it’s too late.

Now fellow cosplayers, mistakes happen. What’s important is how you recover from them. When I bought my paint I picked up a bit of thick white paint because the base fabric I’m using is white. So every time I paint the wrong color somewhere I just go over it with white until it’s covered up and then I can paint over it with the proper color. In this case I needed to white over a black line and change the shape of a curve before extending the black farther into the wing.

This is a hand made costume so remember to cut yourself some slack when you’re working on your own costume. Most people I know see every single flaw in construction when they make something but trust me, no one else will notice, or if they do they won’t mind. These little flaws are what make it unique, so be a little forgiving of yourself if you make a mistake. Recover, and carry on. (I know…it’s hard. I can spot every little misstep I’ve made on this costume but then I look at a picture and realize that even knowing where the mistakes are I can barely spot them).

Black and white for now.

So I got a good part of the black done on both sides of the left wing. I decided to stick with black today because I wanted to see the left wing as a black and white pattern and compare it to the full color right wing. I’m glad I did, the contrast is striking.

Since I have never seen a Mothra cosplay at any comic con I’ve gone to I decided to do a little Googling and see what other Mothras might be out there. I figured G-Fest would be a logical place to find Mothra cosplay. Then in the course of further Googling I saw a Mothra with the same wing and hat concept that I had–in a Godzilla Burlesque!! I don’t know whether to be delighted or scandalized. It just goes to show that there truly is nothing new under the sun.

My hat is quite different in style than any of the others I saw and I only saw original Mothra costumes and I’ve gone with Rainbow Mothra. I like the colors but I also like the shape of the wings better. I also like the feathery antenna of the Mothra I chose. As I said in last weeks blog post, choosing a subject for cosplay is very personal and there is no right or wrong choice. It’s what seems right to the cosplayer.

This week has been extremely busy so cosplay Sunday is going to be brief this week. I’ve been contemplating how to affix the wings to the vest that will be the structural part of the body. I do not have leather needles which would be an additional cost.

Leather is tricky to work with. Not only is it a heavy fabric but also since it is hide and not woven any holes put in it by a needle are permanent and are not easily hidden should a mistake be made. A friend suggested a substance, an adhesive called sugru. The purist in me doesn’t trust an adhesive to be as durable and reliable as stitching but maybe I’m just a little bit more old-fashioned than I thought.

My friend insists that sugru has been successfully used to repair rafts, shoes and kayaks. I asked if it is pliable when set as I would be affixing fabric wings to leather at the arms and it would need to move like fabric. I was assured this would be the case. I still have my doubts.

Either solution would require a small additional cost: Either I am getting leather needles or I’m getting something else to affix the wings, sugru is a contender. I’d feel better about it if I stitched it but I may not have the skill or components.

I confess that I find myself very much looking forward to the next comic con I can get to. I’m looking forward to trying out the new cosplay. And I’m already looking for my next cosplay project! How crazy is that? I can’t imagine topping Mothra though.

One thing I’ve learned about cosplay while working on this project is that it truly is a labor of love. I mean I could always tell when others wore their cosplay but as my first real cosplay (not counting my steampunk cosplay which I assembled more than made) I’m finding that the choice of subject is something that can only come from a true love of the character. I never would have guessed I’d put so much time, effort, money and love into making a Mothra cosplay. Then I had the idea and the more I thought about it the more I liked it. Now I’m over half way done with the costume and I’m excited about wearing it. I’ve always enjoyed the variety of cosplayers and costumes at cons, I consider them an equal attraction to any panel discussion or star signing autographs but in making this Mothra cosplay I am coming to appreciate their efforts on a deeper level.

Mothra’s right wing is nearing completion. It was construction complete last week. This week the back side of the wing is almost completely painted. I’ll still have to do some touch up in spots but the white paint I got will help cover any mistakes. I used some of the shimmery paint one of the other cosplayers is using, in exchange for letting them use some of my black paint for their cosplay, to give the wing a bit of shimmer.

It took all day to get the painting done. One side of the fabric has a coating that makes it resist taking paint very well. The other side, I’ve discovered, soaks up paint quite readily. This should speed the process. I’ll have to do three coats on the one side but only 1 or maybe 2 on the other side.

Standing back to look at it, after hours stooped over the table to paint it, I can’t believe I made this thing. It’s so pretty and it looks right. I hope it looks as good when it’s all put together.

Mothra model

Next week I’ll finish construction on the left wing and continue painting. I expect painting to take several weeks. I will still need to stitch small elastic loops to the hat so that I can use bobby pins to keep it secured to my head. I hope to finish the costume within the next couple of months.

Day 6 of the Mothra Cosplay construction. The budget is still holding steady at $70.00 for materials. This Cosplay Sunday shows the right wing reaching construction complete and the left wing is nearing construction complete. The only thing left to affix to the left wing is the faux fur material that is being used to simulate fine feathery scales at the inside exe of the wing.

Once the wings are construction complete that will leave painting to be done. Hours and hours of painting. Once the painting is done, which I expect to take several weeks. Then the wings will be ready to be affixed to the vest that is providing the body of the costume. I’m not sure how sewing the wings to the leather will work. I hope it’ll go fairly quickly but I fear it will be a lengthy process.

Leather vest, painted with Mothra pattern, for main body of cosplay.

The wings are not as tall as I am, a feature that will make them easy to maneuver through crowds at a con. They also will function more as sleeves, to be extended as I desire. Fixed wings are just too bulky for me to maneuver in crowds. Not a week has gone by where I haven’t asked if the wings are large enough. I tried the right wing on and I think it will do.

Layout

Next Cosplay Sunday I think I’ll paint the right wing and see how far I get. I’ll have to finish up the construction on the left wing the week after. I enjoy painting and I’m excited to see what a completed wing looks like, so I’ll put off finishing the construction on the left wing for a week.

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Now on to news of War In Flesh, the sequel to In The Flesh. I had an idea worthy of a novel but have had a lot of trouble with transitions. After many starts and stops I have had a group of ideas that are worthy of transitions and sub plots. I will have to scrap almost 20,000 words at this time but I think the end result will be worth it. The real struggle with War In Flesh has been that I never intended to write more than one novel in the In The Flesh universe until my beta readers all asked for a sequel. This required that I alter my thought processes about the whole setting after I had finished In The Flesh.

So there have been delays as I try to come up with ideas and an adventure worthy of the first book. Now I’m at the same place I was when I began to write In The Flesh: Hoping I can write well enough to be worthy of my idea. I will keep you updated, gentle reader. K

Now I heard a vague and unsupported rumor that the second Pacific Rim movie is going to pay homage to Voltron and have several Jaegers assemble to form a giant Jaeger. That would be so cool. I hope that it happens.

Also I’ve heard, in various corners of the web, that there are going to be 2 more Godzilla movies directed by Gareth Edwards. That would be awesome!